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A Note on Age…

The reviews here are all categorised by a rough age-group that you can search via the links on the right. In addition, particular reviews may highlight stages at which a book might strike a chord or be at an appropriate level. Roughly speaking, ‘baby’ means anything up to 12 months, ‘toddler’ is from one year to approximately two and a half, and ‘preschooler’ is from two and a half to five years. Many ‘preschooler’ books would also be appropriate for those in primary school.

The trouble is, as always, all children are different. It means very little in terms of their development, it’s just a question of how interested in words they are by temperament, how long they are willing to tolerate sitting down, which topics are to their liking, how much detail they like in their pictures – there are so many variables in the way children mature and grow that it’s very hard to say at what age they will be ready for specific books.

As far as possible, books on here are organised into the broadest of categories. If it’s possible that a child of that age-group would like it, you can find it under that category. So The Gruffalo, for example, is listed for toddlers even though lots of 15 month olds may find it too long, as some 18 month olds may be ready for it, and by two a number of them would cope with the length of it. it just depends on the child.

Hopefully the categories help to narrow down the options a bit if you are searching for a particular age-group – but don’t get too hung up on them. And if you disagree, then say so! There’s always room for debate in the comments on each review, particularly if you found something was too challenging or too basic at a particular age – others will then benefit from your experience.